Kelli Holleran has been coaching Metuchen High School in girls’ cross-country for 13 years.
And her teams have had a lot of success.
She has guided Metuchen to NJSIAA Group 1 championships in 2016 and 2017.
But Holleran’s 2018 team is doing things she has never seen before. The Bulldogs have already shattered program records on two different courses, by 42 seconds each.
They are a prime contender to win another state title this year, even in a higher classification with bigger schools. Metuchen was moved up to Group 2 because of an increase in the school’s population.
The Bulldogs are not going to be intimidated, and they fully expect another title.
“We are very excited by how strong each individual is, which makes us a very strong team,” Holleran said. “It’s a perfect storm. A lot of great runners at the same time that work really well together.”
Metuchen returned four of its top five runners from 2017. That core was complemented by senior Safiya Ratliff, who moved to the area from Missouri and was already a capable varsity runner.
Another newcomer, freshman Caroline Schleif, has become an elite varsity runner. She is already Metuchen’s top finisher. Schleif won the Stewart Invitational in Morris Plains on Sept. 29 and the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park on Oct. 6.
“She’s a talented freshman. She has broken all of our freshman records on different courses at this point,” Holleran said. “She was a very good eighth grade runner, so we were excited to see what she could do. But now that she’s training differently and more consistently, she just keeps getting better.”
Two other underclassmen, freshman Mary Malague and sophomore Bridget Thomas, have also impressed Holleran. Thomas has emerged as Metuchen’s fifth fastest runner, an important role on any high school cross-country team, since five runners count toward the team score.
“Thomas is running personal bests. She’s made huge improvements,” Holleran said. “She’s our fifth runner and you need a good five.”
Malague has been Metuchen’s sixth or seventh fastest runner. So, her score counts in the event of a tie. She also provides depth in case a runner goes down.
The newcomers and the senior core have pushed each other to new heights.
That was on display in the Stewart Invitational, when Schleif, Ratliff, senior Camille Lussier and senior Nina Suss took the top four spots, in that order. Thomas and Malague placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Malague beat 83 other runners in the race, but her time didn’t even count, because she finished sixth on her own team.
In cross-country, your team score is the sum of the places where your top five runners finish. So, the lowest score wins. Metuchen scored a 16 in the Stewart Invitational. The second place team, Rumson-Fair Haven High School, posted a 60.
“It’s really exciting. We knew going in that we had girls who wanted to be there,” Lussier said. “Everyone was dedicated and taking it seriously. We have talent too.”
Lussier and Holleran think the Bulldogs have not even reached their ceiling yet.
“We just kind of are getting started now. We haven’t had sectionals yet. We are waiting for that,” Lussier said. “It’s been really good but it will get much better.”
“The best teams we’ve ever had are girls fighting for the top seven or five. Competitive kids who want to beat each other when the gun goes off. But are also friends and love each other,” Holleran said. “And we’re even better than our averages right now. Hopefully everyone can have their best day on the same day to see how good we can be.”
The NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional meet is on Nov. 3 at Thompson Park in Jamesburg. The state group championship races are on Nov. 10 at Holmdel Park.
